Kenyan lawyer Paul Gicheru has lost an attempt to appeal a decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) pre-trial chamber to confirm charges of witness interference in the crumbled case of Deputy President William Ruto.
Mr Gicheru, through his defence Michael Karnavas, wanted the chamber to allow him to appeal, arguing that the decision was based on unreliable and uncorroborated hearsay statements of prosecution witnesses.
But Judge Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou, sitting at pre-trial Chamber A, dismissed the request saying it was based on a rule that did not apply in the case of Mr Gicheru.
The lawyer faces eight charges related to bribery of key witnesses in the Ruto-Sang case over the 2007/8 post-election violence.
Mr Gicheru is accused of offering them money.
Prosecution witnesses
The witnesses were central to the case, but judges disregarded their testimony when their credibility became questionable.
In the intended appeal, Mr Gicheru wanted to argue that the confirmation of charges was erroneous because the court failed to properly assess the credibility of the prosecution witnesses in light of adverse findings by the Trial Chamber handling the case of Dr Ruto and journalist Joshua Sang.
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